Is a comma necessary here?

Question

Is a comma needed in the following sentence after "and" and before "valuing a campaign"? I'm not sure because while the two clauses in question are dependent, I do use the word "and" again after that spot - I don't know if that could cause confusion or read as a run-on.

Though "Primary Colors" may be slightly exaggerated, I think it adequately showed the possible consequences of placing blind faith in any politician and valuing a campaign and winning over morals – especially from Henry’s point of view.

Answer 1

1. Commas can be tricky, but one way to discover where to place the comma is to read the sentence out loud ( to yourself or a buddy) .As you listen for the correct message of the sentence, also listen to where you naturally "pause" as you read. Where you pause is where to place the comma.
2. You can rewrite the sentence a few different ways (and) to elimimate its extra ands, (and) in order to solve the problem:

Though "Primary Colors" may be slightly exaggerated, I think it adequately showed the possible consequences of placing blind faith in any politician and _________ valuing a campaign and winning over morals – especially from Henry’s point of view.

_________= as well as

________= along with

________= in addition to



Answer 2

I agree with Milton's point. The best fix, I think, is to write, "Though "Primary Colors" may be slightly exaggerated, I think it adequately showed the possible consequences of placing blind faith in any politician and of valuing a campaign win over morals – especially from Henry’s point of view.

Answer 3

Hi Jordan,

You're right that the double "and" does present a hurdle, but adding a comma in the spot you suggested isn't the ideal fix. When sentences become complex and start tripping over themselves like this, it's almost always better to reword or split them to make them more digestible (in this case, in a way that scraps the double "and"). Even perfect punctuation can only take you so far.

Hope this helps!

Milton :)